"Young artists got a chance to show off theirvacation projects — from handmade puppets to acrylic paintings to abstract depictions of the sun — during a special exhibition in Plymouth last week.The Plymouth Community Arts Council’s open house on Friday featured works by the center’s summer camp participants, more than 250 children and young adults who took a hands-on approach to exploring different art forms.The exhibit featured painting, drawings, photographs, pottery, three-dimensional constructions and “green art,” made from bottle caps, advertising circulars and other materials most people would recycle or throw away. Each camper had at least one piece in the show.Melissa Barkholz, 10, of Livonia, took two week-long camps, Puppetry 101 and Tabletop Puppetry, both taught by professional puppeteer Chase Woolner.'Good outlet'Melissa showed off a puppet, of craft paper and masking tape, she had made in Tabletop Puppetry. The figure, more than a foot high, had articulating — that is, moveable — joints, and she later helped manipulate it for a brief show.“This is a good outlet for her” and a means to express her creativity, said Melissa’s mother, Marianne.“This class is all about teamwork,” said Woolner, explaining that puppeteers must work together to coordinate their puppets’ movements.Melissa is a repeat PCAC arts camper, having had experience with pottery and the Uptown Players theater troupe.“She’s been claiming for years she's going to be an artist when she grows up,” said Melissa’s father, Paul.Photos, sketches, clay and more“It was a lot of fun learning how to make the puppet and make them move,” said Liam Twomoon, 11, of Plymouth. Liam said his grandmother signed him up for puppetry and that he quickly took to it.The show also featured stylized photographic self-portraits, clay figurines, paintings and sketches, and model buildings made in a construction art class.Lisa Howard, director of the PCAC summer camp program, said there were more than 500 spots occupied in this year’s camps, with some artists involved in multiple camps. The program has grown quickly, she said, from offering just three different camps a few years ago."